Low‐frequency radio emissions from high‐altitude sprite discharge

Abstract

When lightning strikes from a towering cumulonimbus cloud down to the ground, the electrical discharge can perturb the atmosphere's electric field, potentially triggering a second event—sprite discharge. This more elusive type of electrical discharge, which produces lightning that is red in color, initiates from high altitudes, with streamers propagating down toward the top of the cumulonimbus cloud. Coincident with the dramatic displays, researchers have previously identified low‐frequency radio emissions, which they suggest may be produced in association with the sprite discharge. Investigating this hypothesis, Qin et al. used a two‐dimensional plasma model to calculate the radio emissions that should be produced by a single sprite streamer.